1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a waterproof case arranged to permit a camera to be housed therein and to be operated from outside.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, various waterproof cases have been contrived for cameras to permit photographing underwater or in the rain. Generally, the waterproof case is shaped similarly to the camera to be housed in the waterproof case. The waterproof case is arranged either to have a part of it which abuts on the operation part of the camera formed with a flexible material, such as rubber or the like, or to have an operation part of it mechanically connected (or engaged) with the operation part of the camera, so that the camera housed in the waterproof case can be operated from outside.
However, with the waterproof case arranged in the above-stated manner, it is not easy to accurately operate the operation part of the camera. Besides, it is impossible to form the waterproof case into exactly the same shape as the camera. Thus, the degraded operability of the camera has been considered to be inevitable.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a waterproof case for a camera which has been proposed to solve the above-stated problem. Referring to FIG. 1, a camera 42 is provided with a jack 41 for remote control. A waterproof case 43 is arranged to house the camera 42 therein. The waterproof case 43 has an operation knob 44 arranged on the outside thereof. On the inside of the waterproof case 43 are provided a switch 45 which is arranged to sense any operation performed on the operation knob 44 and an electrical circuit board 46 which is arranged as necessary. The waterproof case 43 is provided further with a cable 47 and a plug 48 for connecting the switch 45 or the circuit board 46 to the jack 41. When the operation knob 44 is operated, the cable 47 and the plug 48 transmit a remote-control signal to the camera 42 through the jack 41, so that the camera 42 can be operated.
However, the above-stated waterproof case has the following shortcomings: (1) The cable and the plug are indispensable for remote-control signal transmission and thus cause an increase in cost. (2) In order to insert the plug into the jack of the camera, the cable must be longer than the length of the shortest transmission path. However, to prevent the free movement of the somewhat lengthy cable, the cable must be held in place either by structural arrangement or by some holding member, which generally not only causes an increase in cost but also requires time and labor in placing and removing the camera in and out of the waterproof case. (3) One end of the cable must be connected to the switch or the electrical circuit board either by means of a connector or by a surface-mounting soldering process, which also causes a cost increase. (4) In a case where a camera of different design is to be used in the waterproof case, the camera might become unusable, insofar as the operation on the camera is concerned, as the plug cannot be inserted into the remote-control jack just because the cable is too short or the cable cannot be held in place. (5) In designing a new camera with the use of this waterproof case taken into consideration, the amount of latitude allowable to the design and structural arrangement of the camera is restricted at least by the position of the remote-control jack which is narrowly limited.